This invention relates to a cooling apparatus for discharging heat generated from a heat generating element in a housing to the outside of the housing efficiently and quietly.
An information processing apparatus such as a personal computer is conventionally available which incorporates a drive for an MD (Mini Disc: trademark) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk: trademark) so that it can record and or reproduce various recording media. An information processing apparatus of the type mentioned includes an apparatus body in which a CPU (Central Processor Unit), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a memory, various drives and so forth are incorporated, and an information inputting apparatus such as a keyboard, an information display apparatus such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel and a sound outputting apparatus such as a speaker are connected to the apparatus body. The information processing apparatus can thus reproduce a recording medium on which contents such as videos or music are recorded and can record contents data of music, videos and so forth onto a recording medium.
In an information processing apparatus of the type described, since it incorporates heat generating parts such as a CPU and a power supply section, in order to prevent failure in operation or the like by overheating, a heat sink is disposed in the proximity of the CPU and a cooling fan for blasting wind is built in an apparatus body. Further, an intake hole for supplying air to the cooling fan and an exhaust hole for discharging air supplied into the apparatus body are formed in the apparatus body. Thus, in the information processing apparatus, the cooling fan is rotated to blast wind into the apparatus body to prevent overheating of the heat generating parts.
However, the cooling fan is disposed in the proximity of the exhaust hole in order to exhaust hot air in the apparatus body efficiently. Accordingly, when the cooling fan is rotated, driving sound of the fan sometimes leaks to the outside of the apparatus body. The driving sound of the fan becomes noise to a user who is using the information processing apparatus to reproduce contents, particularly to a user who is using the information processing apparatus to reproduce music.
Further, since the cooling fan is in most cases provided at a rear wall portion of the apparatus body, the driving sound is liable to leak to the outside of the apparatus body. Further, where a plurality of cooling fans are provided in order to raise the heat processing efficiency, vibrations upon driving of the cooling fans resonate with each other, and there is a limitation to the decrease of the noise level.
Meanwhile, if it is tried to suppress the driving amount of the cooling fan to suppress noise, then the electronic parts which may be overheated cannot be cooled sufficiently, which possibly has a bad influence on operation of the information processing apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus wherein a satisfactory countermeasure against heat generation can be taken while the driving amount of a cooling fan is suppressed to reduce noise.
In order to attain the object described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus for a heat generating element in a housing, including cooling fan means for providing an air flow to the heat generating element, intake hole means for allowing an air flow to be supplied from the outside of the housing to the air flow produced by the cooling fan means, and exhaust hole means for allowing the air flow provided to the heat generating element by the cooling fan means to be discharged to the outside of the housing, a first path length of a first path for the air flow from the intake hole means to the cooling fan means being substantially equal to a second path length of a second path for the air flow from the cooling fan means to the exhaust hole means.
In the cooling apparatus for a heating element, the cooling fan is disposed in the proximity of the heat generating element which is disposed in the housing and generates heat when it is driven and besides is disposed at a substantially mid position between the intake hole means and the exhaust hole means, which may be provided at the opposite end portions of the housing. Accordingly, the cooling fan is disposed at a position spaced away from the intake hole means and the exhaust hole means, and consequently, driving sound of the cooling fan can be suppressed from leaking to the outside of the housing.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts or elements denoted by like reference symbols.